In the shadows of the night, Darian has lived alone for almost a century. Made and abandoned by her former love, Darian is the last of her kind—an ...
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reviews
Jan 15, 2012
Catherine
rated it: 
I’ve discovered that I’m not a big fan of a romantic connection being established prior to the start of a book. I don’t mind a preexisting attraction or a second chance, but I don’t like having an established connection plopped in my lap. I know I’m just supposed to go with it, but it’s hard. It can succeed if done well, but an author has to be careful to still provide supporting data to make me believe in the characters’ feelings instead of expecting me to swallow it just because it’s presen
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32 comments
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(12 people liked it)
Feb 17, 2012
Cyp
rated it: 
Originally posted at A Bookalicious Story.
My Summary
Darian is a Shaede made by another - a past lover, in fact, one that abandoned her almost a century ago. She's the last of her kind, or so she was led to believe, and with only stealth in her arsenal, she trains herself to be one of the best assassins in the field. She can become incorporeal after twilight, and move in the shadows as nothing more than a ghost.
Tyler has been a long-standing friend (a friend wh More...
My Summary
Darian is a Shaede made by another - a past lover, in fact, one that abandoned her almost a century ago. She's the last of her kind, or so she was led to believe, and with only stealth in her arsenal, she trains herself to be one of the best assassins in the field. She can become incorporeal after twilight, and move in the shadows as nothing more than a ghost.
Tyler has been a long-standing friend (a friend wh More...
2 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Nov 30, 2011
Pamela {Spaz}
rated it: 
Originally posted at Heroes and Heartbreakers
In the first installment of what promises to be an exciting addition to the Urban Fantasy landscape, Amanda Bonilla has skillfully created a new version of Seattle where the heroine Darian is a shaede assassin.
Bonilla offers a unique take on lesser-seen Urban Fantasy mythological beings such as jinn, oracles, and sylphs. The heroine herself is able to become shadow and leave her corporeal form behind once the sun sets. Seattle coul More...
In the first installment of what promises to be an exciting addition to the Urban Fantasy landscape, Amanda Bonilla has skillfully created a new version of Seattle where the heroine Darian is a shaede assassin.
Bonilla offers a unique take on lesser-seen Urban Fantasy mythological beings such as jinn, oracles, and sylphs. The heroine herself is able to become shadow and leave her corporeal form behind once the sun sets. Seattle coul More...
11 comments
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(7 people liked it)
Feb 19, 2012
Merve-
rated it:
I really loved this book .Characters, love scenes etc
Main character was really powerful and self-sufficent. I must accept she was sometimes acted stupid but she survived in a world she is not fittingly prepaired. She educates herself and i can love her just for that.
when i was reading book i didnt get bored, but sometimes it was predictable, i dont think author made this knowingly but it didnt lessened the story which she quickly catched what is going on.
I have just o More...
Main character was really powerful and self-sufficent. I must accept she was sometimes acted stupid but she survived in a world she is not fittingly prepaired. She educates herself and i can love her just for that.
when i was reading book i didnt get bored, but sometimes it was predictable, i dont think author made this knowingly but it didnt lessened the story which she quickly catched what is going on.
I have just o More...
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 29, 2012
Jill
rated it:
Debut
Darian is a Shaede, created not born, one of only three Sheades that have ever been made. She has been alone for nearly a century after her maker and lover Azriel, disappeared. Alone in the world believing that she is now the only Shaede remaining and convinced that Azriel is dead, Darian takes on the job that Azriel left behind. An assassin.
Shaedes are supernatural beings who can pass as shadow during the night but take solid form during the day, with heightened s More...
10 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Dec 25, 2011
Mariya
rated it: 
SHAEDES OF GRAY has such an amazing cover and intriguing synopsis, so I was very surprised that this book just didn't do it for me. I became so frusterated by the characters in SHADES OF GRAY that I just went into one of my angry fangirl moments.
SHADES OF GRAY does however start out incrediably amazing that I was at the point of being sold on the book, but once I got through a few more chapters and a few more after that I wanted to flush this book down the toliet. I thought SHAEDES O More...
SHADES OF GRAY does however start out incrediably amazing that I was at the point of being sold on the book, but once I got through a few more chapters and a few more after that I wanted to flush this book down the toliet. I thought SHAEDES O More...
3 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Feb 15, 2012
♥ Ashleigh ♥
rated it:
so i just wrote this awesome review but then the computer screw'd up and didnt save it o.O highly annoying but not much i can do about it.
well anyways Joan picked out this book for us to read and i have to say she did an awesome job once again! thanks Joan!
this book was like a few others i have read but the author did a great job writing it so i didnt mind.
Dairan - the main character - who's a lot like the main heroines out of the October Days series and the Gre More...
well anyways Joan picked out this book for us to read and i have to say she did an awesome job once again! thanks Joan!
this book was like a few others i have read but the author did a great job writing it so i didnt mind.
Dairan - the main character - who's a lot like the main heroines out of the October Days series and the Gre More...
10 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 03, 2011
Erika
rated it:
3.5 stars, but I think on the lower side of three, vs more four. Make sense? In my odd brain it does.
3 stars means I liked it, but it has issues.
This review is going to be difficult for me, because on the one hand, I fell in love with Shaedes of Gray's promise. And you know what they say about falling in love with the potential of a man or woman right? Well, it's true for books too.
Let's start with what I loved:
1) The matrix like feel of the Shae More...
3 stars means I liked it, but it has issues.
This review is going to be difficult for me, because on the one hand, I fell in love with Shaedes of Gray's promise. And you know what they say about falling in love with the potential of a man or woman right? Well, it's true for books too.
Let's start with what I loved:
1) The matrix like feel of the Shae More...
3 comments
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(10 people liked it)
Jan 17, 2012
Alexzandra
rated it:
At first I was slightly skeptical to read an Urban Fantasy, being a huge fan of completely made up worlds, but Amanda Bonilla really took to blending her fantasy world into the world we know. I also appreciate, being from Seattle, the author was correct in her map of the city. Though I'm sure you are not worried about that! Moving on...
The writing style of the book really drew me into its pages. I honestly bought the book and couldn't put it down, till very late at night mind you, bu More...
The writing style of the book really drew me into its pages. I honestly bought the book and couldn't put it down, till very late at night mind you, bu More...
0 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Nov 29, 2011
Caitlen
rated it:
I won this book from the Goodreads First Reads program
This author has quite an imagination! However, the storyline wasn't really enough to get me hooked. Actually, I take that back - the storyline was really creative and very interesting, but I didn't connect to the characters well enough to really care what happened to them. However, the ending more than made up for that, and the author certainly finished strong. I will definitely be reading the second book, and I recommend this b More...
This author has quite an imagination! However, the storyline wasn't really enough to get me hooked. Actually, I take that back - the storyline was really creative and very interesting, but I didn't connect to the characters well enough to really care what happened to them. However, the ending more than made up for that, and the author certainly finished strong. I will definitely be reading the second book, and I recommend this b More...
0 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Feb 18, 2012
J9
rated it:
In her debut novel Amanda Bonilla introduces the reader to a new world where the light and dark may not be what you expect.
Darian was made, loved and then left by her creator Azriel. Darian needed to learn how to survive on her own and with her unique skills of a shaede becoming an assassin was the perfect fit. As far as Darian has known she is the last of her kind or of any paranormal creature as she has never met another. But then a hit goes wrong, Darian is plunged into a world she More...
Darian was made, loved and then left by her creator Azriel. Darian needed to learn how to survive on her own and with her unique skills of a shaede becoming an assassin was the perfect fit. As far as Darian has known she is the last of her kind or of any paranormal creature as she has never met another. But then a hit goes wrong, Darian is plunged into a world she More...
Dec 12, 2011
Lee
rated it:
I basically picked this up because I liked the title and the cover and wanted another good series to start. Signet Eclipse labels it as an "urban fantasy romance" although I would categorize it more as paranormal urban fantasy than as a romance. The romance will be ongoing (one assumes) in coming books just as Patricia Briggs has developed Mercy and Adam's story throughout the Mercy Thompson series. Any one who enjoys that series will rejoice to see something along vaguely similar li
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0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 11, 2011
Paradoxical
rated it:
A decent beginning to a new series, though I'm rather wary as to where these books may go. Mainly because the protagonist, Darian, is a not so easily liked character who is prickly and rather likes to wallow in her misery. In fact, the beginning of the book was a bit of a struggle because she is rather hard to deal with. Darian is stubborn, arrogant, narcissistic, and basically tells herself that she can't feel any positive emotions because she's been burned in the past. Granted, she's been burn
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Dec 08, 2011
Mlle.
rated it: 
Hold onto your hats and glasses, folks. This one’s going to get ugly.
The first-person narrator, Darian, is an assassin. An assassin who only kills evil people. Not that she does the legwork to check whether or not her victims are evil –she explains in one memorable scene, “Thinking wasn’t part of my job,” – so she just trusts her boss, Tyler, to be extra careful about picking evil victims.
She’s also fabulously wealthy because she only takes high dollar jobs, which More...
The first-person narrator, Darian, is an assassin. An assassin who only kills evil people. Not that she does the legwork to check whether or not her victims are evil –she explains in one memorable scene, “Thinking wasn’t part of my job,” – so she just trusts her boss, Tyler, to be extra careful about picking evil victims.
She’s also fabulously wealthy because she only takes high dollar jobs, which More...
3 comments
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(13 people liked it)
Dec 06, 2011
Kristin
rated it:
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/12/rel...
Shaedes of Gray was such a pleasant surprise! Everything about this book looked great, but you never know what to expect when trying out a new author. Turns out I had nothing to fear. Darian is a Shaede, able to shift into shadow and has spent her life working as an assassin, until her maker, Azriel, leaves her with no hint at whether he is dead or alive. She has continued her work as an assassin (it’s all sh More...
Shaedes of Gray was such a pleasant surprise! Everything about this book looked great, but you never know what to expect when trying out a new author. Turns out I had nothing to fear. Darian is a Shaede, able to shift into shadow and has spent her life working as an assassin, until her maker, Azriel, leaves her with no hint at whether he is dead or alive. She has continued her work as an assassin (it’s all sh More...
0 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Nov 30, 2011
Bookaholics
rated it:
Shaedes of Gray by Amanda Bonilla
Urban Fantasy–Dec. 6th, 2011
4 stars
In this startling new urban fantasy, an entirely new type pf heroine finds herself caught in a deadly war.
Darian is a Shaede who was created by another powerful Shaede. Alone and untrained, once her creator loved then abandoned her. She believes her creator is dead and that she is alone. She drifts, working as an assassin for a mysterious man named Tyler whom she finds attractive but knows More...
Urban Fantasy–Dec. 6th, 2011
4 stars
In this startling new urban fantasy, an entirely new type pf heroine finds herself caught in a deadly war.
Darian is a Shaede who was created by another powerful Shaede. Alone and untrained, once her creator loved then abandoned her. She believes her creator is dead and that she is alone. She drifts, working as an assassin for a mysterious man named Tyler whom she finds attractive but knows More...
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 21, 2011
Melliane
rated it:
My english review
Mon avis en français
What can I say about this book? "Waouh" is the only word which comes to my mind now that I’ve finished it. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read since a few months. The Amanda Bonilla’s ideas are awesome; there are no other words to say it. I think it’s always difficult to make a difference with Urban Fantasy’s books because there are a lot today. But the author succeed in this challenge, and even more. She created More...
Mon avis en français
What can I say about this book? "Waouh" is the only word which comes to my mind now that I’ve finished it. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read since a few months. The Amanda Bonilla’s ideas are awesome; there are no other words to say it. I think it’s always difficult to make a difference with Urban Fantasy’s books because there are a lot today. But the author succeed in this challenge, and even more. She created More...
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 18, 2012
Amanda
rated it:
I had put this on my TBR pile after reading some mixed reviews. What was intriguing to me was that people either loved it or really didn't like it at all. I was looking forward to seeing which camp I fell into.
Darian is a Shaede, an immortal being that can turn into black mist at night (I was reminded of how the Death Eaters in the Harry Potter movies got around). She wasn't always what she is - her maker turned her and left her, leaving her to fend for herself for nearly a century More...
Darian is a Shaede, an immortal being that can turn into black mist at night (I was reminded of how the Death Eaters in the Harry Potter movies got around). She wasn't always what she is - her maker turned her and left her, leaving her to fend for herself for nearly a century More...
Nov 26, 2011
Urban Fantasy
rated it:
You can see this review and others like on www.ufreviews.com
I can't even begin to explain how excited I have been about this book coming out. The cover blub was super intriguing and it made me want to read the book, but for me it was more than that. Amanda is, in my opinion, an author who is truly awesome at using social networking. She has a twitter, facebook, and blog, and why this is important is because she feels accessible. Over the past few months, every time I left a comment on More...
I can't even begin to explain how excited I have been about this book coming out. The cover blub was super intriguing and it made me want to read the book, but for me it was more than that. Amanda is, in my opinion, an author who is truly awesome at using social networking. She has a twitter, facebook, and blog, and why this is important is because she feels accessible. Over the past few months, every time I left a comment on More...
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(4 people liked it)
Dec 28, 2011
Jess
rated it:
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Darian lives in Seattle, works as an assassin and at night has the ability to blend into the shadows. She was “made” into a Shaede over a hundred years ago. Another Shaede, Azriel, rescued her from an abusive husband and turned her into a Shaede. They were together for twenty years before Azriel disappeared. Darian believes he’s dead and with no knowledge of who she really is, or the world she’s living in, she takes over Azriel’s position as a More...
Darian lives in Seattle, works as an assassin and at night has the ability to blend into the shadows. She was “made” into a Shaede over a hundred years ago. Another Shaede, Azriel, rescued her from an abusive husband and turned her into a Shaede. They were together for twenty years before Azriel disappeared. Darian believes he’s dead and with no knowledge of who she really is, or the world she’s living in, she takes over Azriel’s position as a More...
Jan 11, 2012
Barbara
rated it:
What an outstanding debut by author Amanda Bonilla – I absolutely loved Shaedes of Gray. Darian is a shaede, a supernatural being that retains her corporeal shape during the day, but when darkness comes she can become shadow, moving like smoke through the air, which she uses in her profession as an assassin. For the better part of a century she was led to believe that she is the only one of her kind, but suddenly she’s running into supernaturals of all kinds, including Alexander Peck, the King
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(2 people liked it)
Nov 24, 2011
Tamara
rated it:
I received this ARC through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
In this debut novel by Amanda Bonilla, Darian is a Shaede, an immortal who can become shadow. And she thinks she's the last of her kind. After being abandoned by her creator and lover, Darian uses her skills to become an assassin. She also fends off romantic overtures from her handler, Tyler. Darian gets an assignment to kill Xander Peck, who happens to be king of the Shaedes. Darian struggles to understand and accept that he More...
In this debut novel by Amanda Bonilla, Darian is a Shaede, an immortal who can become shadow. And she thinks she's the last of her kind. After being abandoned by her creator and lover, Darian uses her skills to become an assassin. She also fends off romantic overtures from her handler, Tyler. Darian gets an assignment to kill Xander Peck, who happens to be king of the Shaedes. Darian struggles to understand and accept that he More...
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 16, 2011
Tracey
rated it:
I’ve been looking forward to reading Amanda Bonilla’s debut UF novel since I read the first chapter on her blog. I wanted to know more about the Shaede world, and especially the relationship between Darian and Tyler. This book did not disappoint on either count, and once I started reading I couldn’t put it down. The world building is excellent, and I loved the Seattle backdrop; I could almost feel the damp environment and was intrigued by the other supernatural beings living in the city.
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(3 people liked it)
Feb 18, 2012
Eero
rated it:
Darian our heroine is one whine bitch and idiot. A hundred years old assassin but realy don't know anything about her choosen profession and little about anything else as it seems when story evolves.
Darian is immortal shaede, a creature which can become one with shadows and can only be killed by magic blade. Or so Darian belives, but as reader will see Darian knows really nothing about herself our those who surrounds her. In some reason all males in Darian say they love her and they More...
Darian is immortal shaede, a creature which can become one with shadows and can only be killed by magic blade. Or so Darian belives, but as reader will see Darian knows really nothing about herself our those who surrounds her. In some reason all males in Darian say they love her and they More...
Dec 15, 2011
Emma
rated it:
So i love myself a good urban fantasy. Pure escapism, and I loved the first half of this book. Sure, the main character was very ugh... up-herself... but I find that redeaming in some characters. Especially when a character has supposedly been around for a long period of time and has powers beyond humanity. It also added to the whole assassin character. If you were ever an assissin, you'd have to be confident and cocky enough in your own abilities... otherwise why would you risk your life?
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(1 person liked it)
Oct 25, 2011
Suzanne
rated it:
I was lucky enough to read this early. I'm not a huge Urban Fantasy reader, but this novel is a page turner! Full of good tension, romance, and skilled world building. Any one who reads any genre will be satisfied and asking for more by the last page!
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(3 people liked it)
Nov 26, 2011
Schwana
rated it:
I truly, truly enjoyed reading this book. Darian is a captivating character and I couldn't put the book down for more than it took to work, cook dinner, and then get back to the story asap. lol I got into the story within a few moments of reading the book. I have always enjoyed reading about strong females who change their lives and it was nice to know that even though Darian hadn't started out strong in her "human" life that she became strong and independent in her "supernatu
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 20, 2012
Eileen
rated it:
This book was a bit uneven. It was really slow in the beginning, then it got interesting and then all kinds of action happened. There were many unanswered questions at the end of the book, but I still enjoyed it knowing that it's the first book of a series.
One thing that bothered me though was Xander. He and Darian have very little interaction in the book at all, yet he claims to be in love with her. Perhaps this will be explained later but it made very little sense to me as I w More...
One thing that bothered me though was Xander. He and Darian have very little interaction in the book at all, yet he claims to be in love with her. Perhaps this will be explained later but it made very little sense to me as I w More...
Dec 06, 2011
Stacy
rated it:
Darian is a shade, she was abandoned by her love without any idea of who or what she really was. After her love disappeared she decided to use her shade abilities to her benefit and became an assassin for hire only going after bad guys.
I had no issues connecting to the story. The action kept me reading and there were some great twists thrown in along the way. We quickly jump into SHAEDES OF GRAY getting to know Darian's personality. She is self reliant, Strong, hides in plain site, d More...
I had no issues connecting to the story. The action kept me reading and there were some great twists thrown in along the way. We quickly jump into SHAEDES OF GRAY getting to know Darian's personality. She is self reliant, Strong, hides in plain site, d More...
Jan 05, 2012
Terri
rated it:
After 104 pages and reaching the end of chapter nine, I gave up. I just can't feel anything but annoyance toward the point of view character.
Don't get me wrong, the world building is great, but the Darian's entire attitude rubbed me the wrong way. She's so into her own looks, and makes what are, honestly, too stupid to live, mistakes, that the only reason I didn't throw the book against the wall was the fact that it's a library book.
With the level of work that went into More...
Don't get me wrong, the world building is great, but the Darian's entire attitude rubbed me the wrong way. She's so into her own looks, and makes what are, honestly, too stupid to live, mistakes, that the only reason I didn't throw the book against the wall was the fact that it's a library book.
With the level of work that went into More...
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